Add to the fact that it was midnight when we arrived, the cue to getting through immigration was 3 hours long. What made it unbearable was not the Axe cologne of guys, which I welcome with open arms and nostrils, but the body odor that filled the air! Green Peace has got to do something the pollution!!!
Thank goodness for my mom’s winning smile and charm, (yeah, it was her working it because I was so bummed out) the visa guy escorted us to go through the fast lane for VIP’s and got us out to in less than 1 hour (which is still somewhat frustrating).
Because it was a last minute decision to stay overnight in Dubai, we did not make any hotel bookings. Unfortunately, my friend that works here failed to mention that there is a fair and all hotels are fully booked. We opted to get the visa and hotel package called TRANSIT CITY VISIT, a program that allows a transit traveler to see the place within 96 hours upon arrival without having to apply for a visa the normal way. This package costs around $360 for 2 people. Cheap, yes, but the hotel was once again, disappointing. Outside smelled of garbage and well, you can just try to imagine. I guess I got so used to my surrounding in Peninsula that everything else is just not as good. But I was not so worried about me. I was more uncomfortable with my mom being in a place like that. But apparently, my mom is not as spoiled as I am and handled the situation far better than I did.
Anyhow, my first experience of Dubai, which is the airport scene, did not seem worth visiting the country. You tend to miss the efficiency of Hong Kong and Bangkok International Airport where there may be a mile long line but at least it moves, and of course, people smell better. Imagine being in line this long with BO as your air.
Dubai outside the airport, hmm…tricky to answer….in magazines and commercials and National Geographic feature stories, Dubai is a country that YOU MUST SEE. To me, it is nothing really great once you are outside the hotels and the mall. I must admit the hotel industry is thriving in this country because they sure spend a lot on them. They are magnificent, rich, extravagant and jaw dropping beautiful. Most of which have Filipino employees which somewhat made me feel like I was home. But I say, it is nothing that Las Vegas cannot outdo. At least in Vegas, you can feast your eyes on hundreds of hunks (hihi).
It is sad though because a lot of Flippers who work there never fail to tell my mom and I how miserable they are in Dubai. That the money is not even that good and that the locals are often rude to them. If I could, I would hire them all just so they would be back home near to their families.
As an overview of my short stay in Dubai, I have decided that my plans to visit the country with my good friends Rajo Laurel and Naty Pappas has got to be changed to Shanghai instead. And for those who plan to go, I say, wait a few more years when the roads are all fixed and when there’s more to do than hotel hop and go to the mall. 2010 would be a good time.
P.S. Here are a few things that caught my attention that the Philippines does not have.
2 comments:
interesting since i heard pretty much the same from a colleague who went there
I say, if you have no business in Dubai, don't even think of going as a tourist.
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